Arizona Cardinals should look at division players

When the free agency period begins in a couple of months the Arizona Cardinals should target some players of a division rival

Whether they want to or not, the Arizona Cardinals will need to be pretty heavy players in free agency this coming offseason. When 20-plus players of your own are set to hit the market, there’s a good chance at least some of those will depart. Replacements will be needed.

A division foe of the Cardinals, the Los Angeles Rams, happen to have some intriguing free agents ready to become available in March. Rumors are swirling that the Rams’ new coaching staff may want to rid themselves of former coach Jeff Fisher’s “guys”. Some of which could be a help to the Cards.

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One of the players that may be up for grabs is cornerback Trumaine Johnson. He was hit with the franchise tag last offseason, and was never signed to a long-term contract. Unless the Rams decide to franchise him again, he will become one of the league’s most sought-after free agents.

The 27-year old would be an excellent fit in the desert. The best Cards corner not named Patrick Peterson last season was Marcus Cooper, who’s also scheduled to become a free agent. Signing Johnson instead of Cooper would be a significant upgrade to Arizona’s secondary.

Placekicker Greg Zuerlein has one of the strongest legs in the NFL, and his contract is also set to expire. Current Cardinals’ kicker Chandler Catanzaro did not have a good year in 2016. It would not be a shock if

management decides a change is needed.

Zuerlein converted 19 of 22 field goal attempts in ’16, and was good on all 23 of his PATs. By comparison, Catanzaro missed seven field goals and four extra points.

With the imminent retirement of Larry Fitzgerald, the release of Michael Floyd and Jaron Brown coming off of an ACL injury, the Arizona receiving corps may be in dire need of a “big” pass-catcher going forward. Kenny Britt, at 6’3″, 223 pounds, would fit the bill.

Britt caught 68 passes for 1,002 yards and scored five touchdowns. His numbers would probably have been even better if he didn’t have Case Keenum and Jared Goff throwing to him. His 14.7 average yards per catch was impressive, especially considering how anemic the Los Angeles offense was.

All three of the aforementioned players would look good in Cardinal red. The front office would not only be strengthening the Cards, but also weakening a division opponent by signing any or all of the three. It will be fun to see who the Cardinals’ braintrust is ultimately interested in.